Marshall resident fights for children

February 22, 2009|By VIRGINIA RANSBOTTOM Tribune Staff Writer

He's on a mission to save at-risk children. As a member of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, Ryan Liedtky was asked to help the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Children's Home from being targeted for closure. Now, alongside the ISSCH alumni association and the American Legion, who have supported the home through the years, Liedtky is asking for the public's help. "These children are at-risk youth and this home was a last resort for most of them in an effort to keep them out of the juvenile justice system," Liedtky said. "For others, this home was the only way they could be kept with their siblings." Founded after the Civil War in 1865, the facility is in Knightstown, about 20 miles east of Indianapolis. Liedtky, who ran unsuccessfully for the Marshall County Council last year, said he's tried but hasn't been able to attain a report in which the state health department announced the home would be shutting down in May because it costs $10 million a year to operate and lacks clear vision. Liedtky said they can't do that without taking it out of the state budget first. "And if that happens, the entire U.S. American Legion will come fight," he said. The House Ways and Means Committee, controlled by Democrats, voted Tuesday in favor of keeping the home in the state budget. The budget next moves to the state Senate, where the outcome could change under a Republican majority. Staff writer Virginia Ransbottom: vransbottom@sbtinfo.com (574) 936-2920